Dirty Cabin, Unhelpful Owner
Submitted: November 7, 2012
Stayed: November 2012
Do not stay at this cabin! We recently rented this cabin and were told by the owner that we could check in early on the day of arrival. To start out, when we arrived, the cabin had not even been cleaned yet and was filled with trash. The bonus room in the loft was filled with dead bees. I spoke with the owner and he informed me that he would send the cleaners which he did. Unfortunately, all they did was remove the trash and sweep up the dead bees. I was told by the cleaners that they would drain the hottub and sanitize it, yet when we returned an hour later, there was no evidence (water on ground) that the tub had been drained. It did reek of a strong chlorine smell. There was dust on just about every available surface and spider webs in most of the windows. The couches and chairs on both the main level as well as downstairs were filthy and we were still concerned about the fact that there were dead bees lying about and we had 6 children with us. The owner's response in regard to the bees was that there are bees in the woods and they will get in the house sometimes. While a bee or two might be expected, surely not a colony in a bedroom that is advertised as being ideal for children. Spoke with the owner and requested a refund due to the condition and he flat out denied the request. I again expressed our dissatisfaction at the condition of the cabin and asked him to do the "right thing" and he again refused. I advised him that unfortunately we would have no recourse but to leave a negative review on his website regarding the conditions and his words were "Well, the beauty of VRBO is that I can dispute anything you write." While that may be true to an extent, he cannot dispute the conditions of the cabin and future renters will surely find this out. Once the negative reviews pile up, he will have no choice but to address the problems. Throughout our stay, we became aware of more issues. We had to close off the loft bonus room because the bees kept returning by the dozens, leaving us short a sofa sleeper. When we opened the dresser in the bedroom on the lower level, we found that it had rodent droppings in it. The cabin capacity is 12 people, yet the toilet tissue ran out within a day and a half. Thankfully there was a store nearby. The smoke alarm beeped continously due to a dying battery. All of the decks could use pressure washing or atleast a good sweeping. All in all, I would strongly recommend NOT renting this cabin
Owner's Response: Our cabin checkin time is at 3:00pm. This renter had asked if they could check in early and I replied if no one had left that day and if it was clean a few hours early would be fine. Renter called me at 9:00 am and told me she was there and that the cabin was trashed. I called my cleaner and it was on her schedule to clean that morning, which was routine. The renter demanded a refund stating that the cabin could not be cleaned in time - it was trashed. I told her if the cleaner confirmed that we would give her a refund, but the cleaner needed to see it first. (My cabin had never been trashed, but there is always the first time. However, this was not it.). The renter then told me the furniture in the den was very old (the couch is 15 months old and the recliner is 1 month old). She told me the cabin could not have been cleaned in at least 3 months. Our cabin has rented very well and we had no complaints all summer. It was constantly rented in October with no complaints. Plus, we had been at the cabin about 5 weeks previous and knew it was spic and span when we left. I left a message for my cleaner to call me when she reviewed the cabin. She did and stated it was a normal cleaning, not trashed. I then informed the renter if they would go somewhere and let the cleaner clean, she would be done by 1:00 and if it was not clean, to call me and we could then talk about a refund.
My cleaner texted 90 min - 2 hr that it was clean. The renters arrived back and I received a phone call that evening. Not a word was said about the cleanliness of the cabin, they needed to know how to get the TVs working. They were on the wrong channel. After the cleaning, that is all I heard from the cleaners about the cabin.
If the renters had come when check in time was, they would have had no problem. They saw the way some leave the cabin and I suspect this was a situation that the renter saw the cabin dirty and did not think someone could clean it in time, and did not know that it was surface trash, nothing else. AFter they returned, they had nothing left to complain about, and did not.
We shampoo our carpets and couches throughout the year and I asked the cleaner if they needed done (had been done about a month ago). She said, no, they were still clean. Likewise, the hottub is drained, refilled and chlorinated, which is why she smelled chlorine.
I thank my renters who come back time and again. I'm sorry this renter came early.
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